Jerry Moyes is definitely persistent. Over the past month or so, he has been pursuing the buyout of Swift Transportation Co., Inc. (NASDAQ: SWFT), a major trucking company. Then again, back in the mid 1960s, he founded Swift (yes, he started with only one truck).

His initial bid was $29, but it was simply not enough for the company to accept. So, he upped the bid to $31.55, which was enough. In all, the deal comes to about $2.74 billion.

Interestingly enough, back in late 2005, things did not look so good for Moyes. He had to leave the company because of a $1.25 million settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission over insider trading allegations.

But, given his current stake in Swift of roughly 26% and the willingness of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) to arrange financing, Moyes now will have his company back.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and the EDGAR-Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.

Jerry Moyes has had a lot of drama with Swift Transportation (NASDAQ:SWFT), a trucking company he founded in 1966, which is now the second largest in the U.S.

Last year, Moyes had to resign from his beloved company because of allegations of insider trading. Now that things have settled down, however, Moyes is back in the game and recently made a buyout offer -- of $29 per share -- for Swift.

Well, Swift disappointed Moyes once again as the board indicated that the offer was not sufficient. Of course, the board is doing its duty to get the best deal for shareholders, although board members may also realize that some, or all of them, may be fired if Moyes succeeds.

Swift is also talking to other potential buyers, yet, given the company's growth rate – and tough industry conditions – it may be hard to get a better deal. Besides, Moyes still owns 27.1% of Swift.

In other words, do not expect a bidding war to erupt.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and operates InvestorOffering.com.

With oil prices still fairly high and signs of a slowing economy, it does not seem likely for the second largest trucking company to be the target of a buyout.

And that's exactly what has happened to Swift Transportation Co. Inc. (NASDAQ: SWFT). There is now an offer for $29 per share. The offer came yesterday from Swift's former CEO, Jerry Moyes. He is also the company's largest shareholder.

Why is he no longer CEO, you might ask. Well, he had to pay a settlement regarding insider trading allegations (I guess he's a bit of a stock junkie). Interestingly enough, I guess he may be back in charge.

As is the case with any savvy negotiator, it looks like his initial volley is a low bid. After all, Swift's stock price surged $5.79 in yesterday's session to close $0.84 above the buyout price. In other words, investors are betting that the bid will be hiked.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and operates InvestorOffering.com.

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Swift Transportation (SWFT), JetBlue (JBLU) and Southwest (LUV) top today's list of upgrades.

• Following Director Moyer's offer to buy Swift Transportation, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWFT) for $29 a share, the company was upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at Wachovia, to Peer Perform from Underperform at Bear Stearns and to Neutral from Sell at Bank of America.
• JetBlue Airways Corp. (NASDAQ:JBLU) was upgraded by Raymond James to Outperform from Market Perform following the October traffic report.
• Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE:LUV) was upgraded to Outperform from Underperform at Credit Suisse based on valuation.

OTHER UPGRADES:

• Medimmune, Inc. (NASDAQ:MEDI) was upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Friedman, Billings Ramsey, citing Numax data and increased sales expectations for the drug.
• Finally, H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) was upgraded to Buy from Sell at Soleil. The firm believes H&R Block's decision to explore strategic alternatives could lead to a possible sale of the whole company or certain parts of the company.

Analyst summaries provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

U.S. stocks rallied today a head of tomorrow's elections on a variety of takeover bids and merger agreements. The mergers and acquisitions announcements created a bullish equity environment for traders and investors. The S&P 500 is up 1.14%, NASDAQ 100 is up 1.64%, The Dow is up .93% and the 10 year bond rate declined to 4.709%. The CBOE VIX was down .06 to 11.10.

McKesson (MCK) agreed to acquire Per-Se Tech (PSTI), an Atlanta based provider of financial and administrative technology products for hospitals for $28 per share in cash. McKesson's $1.8 billion buyout of PSTI is expected to close in the 1st quarter of 2007. Per-Se Tech option implied volatility collapsed to 20 from 37 on the announcement, according to Track Data.

Four Seasons Hotels (FS) received a $3.7 billion ($82 a share) buyout offer from Isadore Sharp, Cascade Investment (an entity owned by William Gates) and Kingdom Hotels (a trust owned by Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud). Four Seasons currently has 70 hotels in 31 countries. Four Seasons overall option-implied volatility collapsed to 15 from 32, indicating the confidence of this deal being completed.

KOS Pharma (KOSP) signed a definite agreement to be acquired by Abbott Labs (ABT) for $3.7 billion ($78 per share in cash). KOS Pharma develops pharmaceutical products for the treatment of cardiovascular and repository diseases. KOS Pharma option-implied volatility collapsed to 14 from 44 according to Track Data, suggesting the deal will be completed.

Swift Transportation (SWFT) confirmed it received a letter from Jerry Moyes, the largest shareholder, a current director and former chairman/CEO of the company. Moyes proposed to acquire all of SWFT's outstanding stock for $29 a share in cash. Swift Transportation overall option-implied volatility collapsed to 19 from 39 on the confidence the deal will be completed at a price higher than the $29 bid.

OSI Restaurant Partners (OSI) announced a definite agreement to be acquired by a group of investors lead by Bain Capital and company founders for $40. OSI over all option implied volatility collapsed to 14 from 32 on the confidence the deal will be completed.

PLAY, a developer of semiconductors, firmware and software platforms for portable media products, will be acquired Nivida (NVDA) for $13.50 in cash. PLAY option-implied volatility collapsed to 20 from 42 according to Track Data.

Option volume leaders today were Google, Inc. (GOOG), Citigroup, Inc. (C), TXU Corporation (TXU), the Home Depot, Inc. (HD) and Boston Scientific Corp. (BSX).

Options Update is provided by Paul Foster and TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).

MOST NOTEWORTHY:

• Swift Transportation (NASDAQ:SWFT) was downgraded by J.P. Morgan to Neutral from Overweight, citing weaker than expected Q3 guidance. Swift was also downgraded by Robert. W. Baird to Underweight from Equal Weight based on the macro headwinds and the upcoming tough Q4 and Q1 comps. Baird lowered Swift's price target to $25 from $33.
• ThinkEquity downgraded Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) to Sell from Source of Funds. The firm believes Q4 revenues may be significantly below expectations given the soft environment and order trends.
• Morgan Stanley downgraded Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT) to Underweight from Equal weight based on valuation.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Lehman Bros. downgraded Check Point Software Technologies (NASDAQ: CHKP) to Equal Weight from Overweight on valuation and the uncertain growth outlook.
• Sherwin-Williams (NYSE: SHW) was downgraded by Morgan Stanley to Equal Weight from Overweight on valuation.
• Bear Stearns downgraded Phelps-Dodge (NYSE: PD) to Peer Perform from Outperform, citing weakness in copper fundamentals.
• A.G. Edwards downgraded EMC Corp (NYSE: EMC) to Hold from Buy on valuation along with expectations for limited upside potential.

Research provided by TheFlyOnTheWall.com (subscription required).